Jonquel Jones cant let Angel Reese continue to torment Liberty

ATLANTA — Jonquel Jones lost the battle. And the Liberty lost the game. Round 1 of this semifinal series went to Angel Reese and the Atlanta Dream on Sunday.  Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Madeline Kenney about all things Liberty and WNBA.Reese had it her way in the Dream’s 92-82 win.

She was physical, talked her trash and backed it up with relentless effort.She looked every bit like the newly crowned Defensive Player of the Year. Reese finished with 17 points on 60 percent shooting.

She grabbed seven rebounds, recorded four steals and blocked three shots. Jones’ matchup with Reese was always going to be one of the most important battles of this series.Reese has the league’s best motor, and she helped the Dream dictate the game on their terms Atlanta made things difficult for the Liberty from the start, and they never consistently established Jones as an offensive force. As a result, Jones finished with 12 points on 4-for-9 shooting.

She notched a game-high 11 boards to go with her three assists and five blocks. Jones knows she can be better. She also knows the Liberty need her to be if they want any chance at getting back to the WNBA Finals. “I have to get back into that Game 2 mindset that I had against Minnesota,” Jones said.“Maybe just crashing and trying to make things happen, be a little bit more physical in that sense.

Yeah, just try to affect the game a little bit more defensively.” Jones put on a modern-big master class to help New York clinch the 2-0 sweep of the Lynx in the first round.She owned the boards and bullied the Lynx inside en route to finishing with 21 points, 13 rebounds and two assists. It was Jones at her best.

She attacked and established herself inside.She didn’t wait for the game to come to her. Afterward, Sabrina Ionescu lauded Jones for setting the tone for the team. “When JJ is doing that, it makes our jobs easier,” Ionescu said.

�...